Scientists have proved we caused devastating weather events in 2016.
Three studies have been published in the December 13, 2017, issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) have proved that some of the deadly weather events of 2016 were caused by climate change. It has been known for a while that the worsening weather around the globe can not be down to chance, but now scientists have determined that the events of 2016 were too drastic to have been part of the natural weather events that occur each year. The events that humans are being held responsible for include a deadly heat wave that swept across Asia, the hottest global year ever recorded, and a persistent large patch of high ocean temperatures that caused mass die-offs in birds and codfish in the Gulf of Alaska. Jeff Rosenfeld, editor in chief of BAMS, has commented: “We can no longer be shy about talking about the connection between human causes of climate change and weather.”
Over the last six years, BAMS has published a December issue that contains the observations and research on extreme weather events that have occurred previous year. The special issues aim to try to distinguish between human-caused climate change and natural variations in the weather, and analyses date from heat waves, rain fall, and temperature, among disasters. 2017 has been filled with extreme weather events, including Hurricane Harvey, wildfires, and droughts, which will be candidates for appearing in this years BAMs studies.
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